The Bark Of The Town: Paws Fur Play Mysteries, #3

By Stella St. Claire

Willow Wells is just beginning to feel settled back in her hometown. She has a thriving business, a hot boyfriend, and the support of her family. Things couldn't get better. Until it all comes crashing down when two of the town's mean girls are found murdered. Not only are Willow and her sister Wednesday first on the scene for both murders, Wednesday is the prime suspect.

 

Suddenly, Willow's perfect life is falling apart. To give Willow time to solve the crime, her boyfriend Griffin has taken over her dog gym business. Willow's father, the rock of both the town and the family, is suddenly powerless to help. And, worst of all, the evidence against Wednesday is mounting.

 

Willow will have to face her past and the reason she left Pineview all those years ago. If she doesn't solve this case—and solve it fast—then the future she's worked so hard for will end up dead and buried.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Relay Publishing
• Release date: Jan 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201466428

Book preview

PROLOGUE

Despite how harried she was feeling, Patricia Virladi kept an even pace as she sashayed home to her apartment. She knew appearances were everything and always maintained the proper front. She kept the smug smile that usually stayed on her lips glued on as she continued down the sidewalk.

She was glad that she had decided to walk home from the salon instead of drive. As much as she loved showing off her shiny red sports car and breaking the hearts of everyone who knew they would never be able to drive something like it, she appreciated the opportunity to collect her thoughts that walking provided. She needed time to think things through.

Her meeting with Becca was supposed to clear things up. However, she still felt like nothing had been solidified. She still wasn’t completely certain what their plan was, and the longer they took to figure it out, the longer poor Daniel would have to wait behind bars. That wasn’t fair to him.

Patricia nodded to one of her neighbors on their way to a night job, but she didn’t waste any energy starting a conversation. She was still absorbed with her own problems.

How could she help Daniel? It wasn’t his fault that Becca was as dumb as her bleached-blonde hair would lead you to believe. She was probably the one who got him into trouble in the first place.

Well, Patricia would just have to do something to fix this. She would clean up this mess like she did all the homes on her roster – perfectly and spotless.

She tapped her fingers against her arm, trying to think of the best move to make. The glimmer from her new metallic nail polish caught her eye, and she ended up smiling a little more. Her fingers really did look lovely. The one perk to working with Becca was that her nails looked impeccable. That might be the one thing Becca did well.

Patricia went through her time spent at the salon again in her mind and decided that aside from updating her polish, it had been a complete waste. However, it was amusing to think about the customers there and the false impressions they must have. She was sure that most of them thought that she and Becca were close. They did both love gossip and their mutual friend Cassandra, but that was it. Maybe they had been BFFs in high school, but then the final F should be changed from forever to fleetingly or for a hot second until tall, ripped, and handsome Daniel Blakemore arrived on the scene.

She touched her dark hair to make sure that every strand was in place and to reassure herself that some things were still perfectly in order. After all, she might run a maid service, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t look like a model on the job. There was no excuse for appearing the way some sorry women in this town did. She’d rather be dead than let herself go like a few of the ladies who visited Becca’s salon.

Of course, she wouldn’t say that to anyone. She would let Becca commence with the mean girl comments, and Patricia would focus on maintaining her squeaky-clean image for her business. A maid service should be thought of as trustworthy, and that’s how Patricia wanted people to think of her. Even if it wasn’t strictly true.

She reached her apartment after walking up the stairs, unlocked the door, and went inside. She spent a little time playing with the tricky door to make sure it shut after her. It didn’t always want to cooperate, and usually she didn’t care. However, she was feeling a little jumpy thinking about Daniel and jail time and wanted to make sure it closed.

She headed towards the bar in her living room, trying to think of how to solve this problem. Something would have to be done about Wednesday. Was the pressure she was putting on her enough? Or would she have to step up her game?

Patricia realized that she might have to be careful not to push too hard with this target, not with the job she had. And not with her father being who he was. She didn’t want to force Wednesday into doing anything desperate – and something that could hurt Daniel’s chances.

She twisted a corkscrew out of a bottle of wine and silently groaned as she realized this was her last bottle in the house. She had attended a wine party at a former classmate’s (with rather boring company) but had ended up ordering half a case. Why was it taking forever to arrive? It was like the world was out to torture her.

She heard a knock at the door and abandoned her wine to swing it open.

Oh, it’s you, she said. She walked further into the apartment, allowing her guest to follow her.

You can finish opening that bottle of wine, Patricia said, heading to a cabinet to pick out two glasses. I was just about to have some. I guess you could join me.

Patricia kept her back to her guest as she selected the glasses. She didn’t want to choose ones that were too big because she really didn’t want to share the last of her wine at all. She found a pair she thought were acceptable and picked one up in each hand.

You’ll like this wine, Patricia teased. It’s sweet. Just like me.

She started to chuckle, but didn’t hear any laughter in response. Instead, she heard her guest walk up behind her and then a loud thud. Pain shot through Patricia’s head and she felt herself falling. It was a blinding hurt like she had never experienced before.

Despite it all, Patricia couldn’t help wondering how badly her hair had been messed up, before everything went dark.

1

Willow Wells was determined to focus on the positive. Her doggie gym business was booming, and she was even going to be in dog food commercial because she had trained a champion. She was in a relationship with a man who was kind and trustworthy – and it didn’t hurt that she found him drop-dead gorgeous either. She had gotten closer to her father and sister since moving back to town, and she also had the best dog in the world who had now saved her life twice. Yes, things in Willow’s world were going well. So she could grit her teeth and complete one unpleasant task and it wouldn’t kill her. She could deliver some wine and not complain about it.

She had attended a party entitled Wine Your Troubles Away, and found tasting the different samples of wine more exciting than a Tupperware party would be. However, because her sister Wednesday had been unable to attend (she was providing a social media presence for a Hot Air Balloon Festival taking place,) the only person Willow really knew was the enthusiastic host, Cassy. She ended up sitting next to Patricia, someone who also graduated from her high school. The only thing Willow had in common with the stuck-up woman was enjoyment of one certain wine. They decided to split a case of it and made their order, and Willow was perfectly fine with never having to talk to her again.

That morning, Cassy had called and please-please-please-d Willow into agreeing to deliver Patricia’s share of the case to her apartment. Because Cassy had seemed genuinely overwhelmed about packing for her vacation, and Willow had already planned on walking Cassie’s labradoodle, Dude, while she was away, Willow had agreed to run the errand.

As Willow parked on the street near Patricia’s apartment, she reminded herself of the wonderful things in her life again. As she hoisted the box containing half of the wine from her trunk into her arms, she reminded herself that she could reward herself with a nice glass of the Grigio that night for all her trouble. Maybe she would invite her sister over to share the bottle with her.

She struggled up the stairs but didn’t drop any of her precious cargo as she headed to Patricia’s door. When she reached it, she realized that it wasn’t completely closed. Was Patricia expecting her?

Patricia? she called. It’s Willow. I have your share of the wine.

She heard a quiet voice from inside the apartment. Though she wasn’t sure that the response was come in, the wine was getting heavy, and she was sure Patricia would be happy to see it.

As she pushed the door open, she was instead greeted with a terrible sight. Patricia was lying face down on the floor with a pool of blood surrounding her head that looked like a malevolent halo. It was clear that she was dead.

This wasn’t even the most shocking aspect of the sight before her. Willow’s sister was in the room, standing over the dead body.

Wednesday?

Her sister looked up and seemed to finally register that Willow was in the room. Though Wednesday usually looked like a movie star walking off the set of a film, today she looked pale and frightened.

Wills, what are you doing here?

Willow slowly placed the box of wine back outside the door while she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. Patricia lying dead was hard enough to process, but why was Wednesday here? How had they both come across a dead body? It was surreal.

Willow shook her head and focused on the facts she knew. I came over to deliver Patricia’s wine. And I saw that the door wasn’t completely closed.

Wednesday nodded without seeming to truly comprehend. Then, she started rambling.

Patricia’s door doesn’t always shut right unless it’s locked into place. It can be tricky. It probably needs to be fixed. But she never really thought it was a problem before. A lot of times when she was home, it might remain open a crack because she didn’t feel like locking it. And it wasn’t a huge deal because right now there’s no one living in the apartment below her. And so when I saw the door open a crack, I didn’t think anything of it. I didn’t think anything… like this…

Willow feared that her little sister was in shock and rushed over to her. She looked at Patricia as she put an arm around her sister, confirming that the woman on the floor was dead. She felt a pang of guilt as she remembered the unkind thoughts she’d been thinking about her. However, then she tried to focus on her sister.

Wends, what happened here?

There’s so much blood, she said in way of a response. I’ve seen crime scenes before. But I knew her. That’s Patricia’s blood.

Is Dad on his way? Willow asked.

Dad?

Or anyone from the police? What did they say when you called them?

I didn’t call them, Wednesday said. She looked frazzled as she began to pat her pockets. I should. Let me get my phone. Where’s my phone?

Willow realized that this was indeed serious. Normally her sister, the Instagram Influencer, had her cell phone attached to her at all times. If she wasn’t sure of its location, then she really must be in shock. Willow wheeled her over to the couch in case Wednesday fainted and also helped her find her phone in her purse. Willow decided that as the more coherent of the two Wells sisters, she should be the one to make the call.

She dialed her father and felt a rush of relief when she heard his voice.

Is everything all right? he asked immediately.

No, Willow said, looking at her sister who was holding her head in her hands. I went to deliver something at Patricia Virladi’s apartment, and I discovered that she was dead. On first glance, it looks like she was hit on the back of the head. I think she was murdered.

I’ll be right there, Frank said after getting the address.

Dad, there’s something else.

More than murder?

Afraid so.

She heard an intake of breath on the other end of the call and knew that he was bracing himself for more bad news. What is it?

Wednesday was here when I arrived. She’s pretty shaken up.

I’m headed to my car now. My sirens are going to be blaring so I can get there as fast as I can.

She thanked him and assured him that they would be fine until he arrived. However, he was already off the line and she assumed speeding down the road. She hoped that she hadn’t worried him too much. After all, the killer couldn’t still be in the apartment, right?

She decided that it was worth checking to make sure that no one dangerous would jump out. Now that they knew it was a crime scene, they probably should move out of the apartment, but Willow didn’t want to rush Wednesday back to her feet when she seemed so unsteady.

Willow made a quick sweep of the house, careful not to touch anything, and everything seemed in order. In fact, very orderly. It was one of the cleanest houses that Willow had ever seen. Maybe that was because of Patricia’s job. Willow was pretty sure Patricia had said that she ran a maid service while they chatted at the wine party.

The cleanliness of the house made the dead body on the floor look even more out of place. Poor Patricia. What had happened to her?

Willow’s eyes continued to sweep the apartment, looking for signs of disorder. There was some broken glass by each of Patricia’s hands, but otherwise everything seemed in place. There were no obvious clues that were jumping out at her, and yet something else was off. What was she looking for?

She almost kicked herself when she realized the answer. She had been looking for signs that her sister was involved in the murder.

Of course, finding someone standing over a dead body could be pretty incriminating. But this was Wednesday they were talking about! Wednesday didn’t have any secrets. She posted everything about her life online in fabulous photos. And she couldn’t have hurt anyone. She was too nice for that.

Willow just couldn’t see her baby sister bashing anybody on the head and felt embarrassed for her momentary doubt. She sat on the couch next to her and took a deep breath.

Then she asked, What were you doing by Patricia when I came in? Checking that she was dead?

Wednesday nodded. I felt for a pulse. I know it seems silly now…

Willow nodded. With the wound revealing a bit of brain tissue, it was pretty obvious that the woman was dead.

But it seemed like the thing that you’re supposed to do, Wednesday said. You’re supposed to check for a pulse when you find someone on the floor.

It was a shock for me to see her like that, and I’m sure it was for you too. But don’t worry. Dad and the police will be here soon.

Wednesday rose to her feet and a shiver shook her body. Now that I’m functioning again, I can’t stay here. I can’t stay in a room with a dead person!

She headed to the door and into the hallway. Willow followed after her slowly but kept glancing around the apartment as she walked. There was